


stubborn love

by splendidlyimperfect



Series: i'm with them [17]
Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Aphasia, Domestic Fluff, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Established Relationship, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Injury Recovery, M/M, Multi, Natsu's a stubborn shit, Polyamory, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, but his boyfriends take care of him
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-07
Updated: 2020-08-07
Packaged: 2021-03-05 19:47:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,332
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25760833
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/splendidlyimperfect/pseuds/splendidlyimperfect
Summary: Natsu is frustrated by his injuries from the accident, but his boyfriends are there to make him take care of himself.
Relationships: Natsu Dragneel/Gray Fullbuster, Natsu Dragneel/Sting Eucliffe, Rogue Cheney/Gray Fullbuster, Rogue Cheney/Natsu Dragneel, Rogue Cheney/Natsu Dragneel/Sting Eucliffe/Gray Fullbuster, Rogue Cheney/Sting Eucliffe, Sting Eucliffe/Gray Fullbuster
Series: i'm with them [17]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1181153
Comments: 18
Kudos: 96
Collections: my heart is too big for just one of you





	stubborn love

**Author's Note:**

> written for fairy tail polyship week 2020; prompt: falling
> 
> this is set a couple weeks after [if you believe in love, you're always alive](https://archiveofourown.org/works/17390387). gray and natsu were in a car accident and natsu ended up in a coma, and when he woke up he had surgery to repair his broken hip. he's also dealing with aphasia caused by brain damage, hence the difficulty in speaking/understanding. 
> 
> i swear this was supposed to be fluff but then it turned into feelings. it's a couple days late for the event, sorry! i wrote it because i fucked up my knee and my husband sprayed me in the face when i wouldn't use the crutches. 
> 
> french version available here
> 
> Find me on tumblr as [@splendidlyimperfect](https://splendidlyimperfect.tumblr.com/) or check out the OT4 blog at [@gratsustingue-the-ot4](https://gratsustingue-the-ot4.tumblr.com/)

“Happy, get off the table!”

Sting grabbed the water bottle from the counter and moved to the kitchen table, spraying Happy in the face as he tried to drink the leftover milk from Natsu’s cereal bowl. Happy meowed indignantly, jumping down to the floor and shaking out his fur.

“Aww,” Natsu said from the kitchen, looking down at Happy and giving him a sympathetic look. “That’s mean.”

“I’m not mean, he’s being a shit.”

Happy sauntered into the kitchen and rubbed himself against Natsu’s legs.

“Poor…” Natsu hesitated, looking down at Happy and then back at Sting.

“Asshole?” Sting suggested. Natsu rolled his eyes. “Cat,” Sting said eventually, filling in the blank for Natsu.

Natsu nodded. “Poor cat. He’s just… wants to eat.”

“Well he’s not supposed to be eating human food,” Sting said. He was about to set the bottle back on the counter when he frowned at Natsu. “Where are your crutches?”

Natsu sighed, gesturing to the living room. “I forgot them—” He was interrupted by a spray of water in his face and he sputtered, rubbing his eyes. “What the hell?”

“Natsu Dragneel,” Sting said firmly, holding the bottle with his finger over the trigger and waving it at Natsu. “Use your goddamn crutches. Next time I find you without them I’m gonna spray you again.”

“You can’t do that,” Natsu muttered, shaking out his wet hair.

“What’re you gonna do about it?” Sting asked, raising his eyebrow and taking a step back. “Stop me?”

“You—”

“If you can walk over here right now without the crutches and take this away from me, I won’t spray you in the face again.”

Natsu glared at him, shuffling on his good foot and leaning against the counter.

“That’s what I thought,” Sting said.

“You’re mean.”

“No, I’m taking care of you.”

Natsu bit the inside of his lip, staring down at the counter where he’d been cutting tomatoes. The dull ache in his hip was starting to spread down his leg and it pushed him from mild irritation to frustration.

“Come sit down,” Sting said gently, setting the bottle on the table and moving over to help him. “Either let me help or use the crutches.”

“I’m fine,” Natsu insisted, cheeks burning with embarrassment.

“No, you aren’t,” Sting argued. “You’ve only been home for a week, and the doctor said—”

“I know!” Natsu’s voice broke and he rubbed his face, swearing when he stumbled forward and into Sting’s arms. Sting held him close, pressing a kiss to the top of his head. “I know,” Natsu said again. “I don’t—it’s just… the… I feel…”

“I’m not trying to be an ass,” Sting said gently. “But I know how stubborn you are. Let me help you.”

Natsu nodded reluctantly, holding onto Sting’s arm as they walked the short distance to the couch. Each step was staggered and uneven, and Natsu made a pained sound of frustration when he finally settled down against the armrest.

“Hate this,” he mumbled, holding the pillow against his chest while Sting grabbed the blanket from the other end of the couch. “It’s…” He trailed off, feeling the irritation grow as the word he was looking for slid just out of his reach.

“I know you’re tired of hearing this,” Sting said gently, crouching down next to the couch and taking Natsu’s hand, “but you need to take it easy, because I’m not going to watch while you hurt yourself again.”

Natsu ground his teeth in frustration, trying to pull meaning out what Sting was saying. He knew the words, but the way they flowed together made no sense. “Slower,” he said quietly, cheeks burning.

“Sorry,” Sting said quickly. “I know you’re frustrated.” He paused and Natsu nodded. “I want you to be safe.”

Natsu looked down at their joined hands, wishing he could describe the angry, desperate sense of resentment that filled his mind. Everything was difficult. Sleeping was uncomfortable, showering took forever, and half the time he didn’t understand what everyone was saying, or he couldn’t tell them what he wanted because his words didn’t make sense.

“Sucks,” he mumbled eventually. “Want to do—I can do things.”

“I know you can,” Sting said. “You feel trapped.” Natsu nodded. “I know you want to be independent.” Natsu frowned and Sting added, “Do things yourself.”

Natsu sighed. “It’s… frustrating.” He felt a small sense of victory at being able to pull the word he wanted from the fragmented pieces of his mind. “I’m always asking. For help. Showering, um… lying? In the bed.”

“Sleeping.”

Natsu nodded. “And the words don’t make sense. Mine and yours.”

“I know.” Sting squeezed his hand. “You have an appointment on Friday.”

“Hate appointments,” Natsu said, groaning and rubbing his face. “Always—the car, driving, waiting. People and… and they want me to—to tell them. Their words, then mine. And I can’t.”

Sting looked like he was about to respond when the front door swung open, bringing a damp-looking Gray and Rogue along with it. Snow still clung to the sleeves of Gray’s jacket, and he shivered when he unwound his scarf and hung it on the hook. Natsu studied his face carefully – he looked exhausted.

“Hey,” Rogue said, setting down his bag and making his way over to the couch. “You okay?”

“’m fine,” Natsu muttered, bringing the pillow up and pressing his face into it. He knew he was sulking, but part of him didn’t care. Then Gray settled down at the other end of the couch and Natsu noticed him flexing his fingers uncomfortably.

“Your cast,” he said, sitting up and letting go of Sting’s hand to reach out and touch Gray’s arm. “Got it off?”

Gray nodded. “It feels weird,” he said.

“Hurts?”

“No, just weird.” He turned his hand and slid his fingers between Natsu’s. “You okay?” he asked, looking up at Natsu’s face.

Natsu sighed. “No.”

“Me either.” Gray tugged on Natsu’s hand and shifted carefully until Natsu could lay with his head in Gray’s lap. “Today sucks.”

“Mm.” Natsu sighed happily as Gray’s fingers ran through his hair. “That feels nice.”

He felt Sting stand from his spot next to the couch, and then a gentle kiss was pressed to his forehead.

“Do you want me to finish making those nachos for you?” Sting asked. “Or should we get takeout?”

Natsu looked up at Gray, who shrugged.

“Both?” Natsu suggested, giving Sting a small smile. Sting laughed and looked over at Rogue, who nodded in agreement.

“Both it is,” Sting said, pulling out his phone. “Chinese? Sushi?”

“Pizza,” Gray and Natsu said at the same time.

When Sting and Rogue headed into the kitchen to tidy up, Natsu turned onto his back and looked up at Gray.

“What’s wrong?” he asked. “Bad sleep?”

“Yeah.” Gray rubbed his eyes. “And I don’t like being at the hospital.”

“I know.”

They sat in silence for a while, Natsu with his eyes closed while Gray brushed out the tangles from his hair. Sting and Rogue talked quietly in the background, and after a while, the cats joined them on the couch. Frosche wriggled onto Gray’s lap next to Natsu’s head, while Lector and Happy made themselves comfortable lying across Natsu’s legs. The cozy familiarity of it all helped to calm Natsu’s frustrations and he felt the tense anxiety slowly bleeding out of his body.

“Pizza’s gonna be here soon.” Rogue appeared next to the couch and poked Natsu in the side. “You wanna sit here or at the table?”

Natsu cracked an eye open and peered up at Rogue. “Here,” he said. “Gray’s comfy.”

Gray, who had his eyes closed and his head tipped back against the couch, hummed in agreement.

“Fine, but when we get up to go to bed—” Sting started, but Natsu interrupted him.

“I’ll use the crutches,” he said. “Promise.”

“Good,” Sting said, waving the spray bottle at Natsu threateningly. “Because this is still half full, and I’m not afraid to use it.”

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [amour sans frontières](https://archiveofourown.org/works/25761373) by [leetokeen](https://archiveofourown.org/users/leetokeen/pseuds/leetokeen), [splendidlyimperfect](https://archiveofourown.org/users/splendidlyimperfect/pseuds/splendidlyimperfect)




End file.
